Strap on a gun, pin on a badge and go shoppingAnnapolis, north county Optimist Clubs host Shop with Cop event
link: http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/nbh/2011/12/04-16/Strap-on-a-gun-pin-on-a-badge-and-go-shopping.html
By TINA REED, Staff Writer
Published 12/04/11
Ten-year-old Kaitlyn Parker was excited all week about going
Christmas shopping on Saturday.
But it wasn't only because she'd
get a gift card to help her purchase presents for her mother and two sisters,
the Annapolis resident said. She would get to ride along with a local police
officer to go pick up those gifts as part of the Shop with a Cop program, she
said.
When Parker grows up, she hopes
to become a police officer herself.
"It's so cool," Parker
said.
Parker was one of 50 children
around the county who headed out to local Walmarts with volunteers from local
law enforcement agencies, including the Anne Arundel County Police Department,
the County Sheriff's Department, the Annapolis Police Department and the
Department of Natural Resources Police.
Armed with $100 gift cards from
the Annapolis and Fort Smallwood Optimist Clubs, the children were able to buy
anything they wanted at the stores. They returned to local Outback Steakhouse
locations to wrap the gifts and have lunch with their new friends.
Fort Smallwood Optimist Club
members and Pasadena residents Rosemarie Billing-Briggs and Marybeth Reid have
been participating in the program since 2003. For the mother and daughter, it
has taken on a special meaning because of the stories they hear, Reid said.
One year, a little girl bought
only items for her mother because the previous year her mother didn't get any
gifts under the tree. The next year, another little girl bought only items for
herself under the direction of her mother, who said she wouldn't be able to buy
Christmas gifts for her that year.
"Today is the start of my
Christmas season," Reid said.
Police officers said they like to
volunteer for the program because it give them a chance to connect with young
people in the community.
"What they might see on TV
about police officers is one thing," said Annapolis Police Auxiliary
Officer Ron Shriner. "To see that a policeman is there to be supportive,
to be a role model and can be fun, too, is an insight they might not have seen
before."
Shriner said he has children and
grandchildren of his own, but he doesn't typically get to go shopping with a
child the way he did this weekend. He got a kick out of walking the aisles with
a young person who seemed to know exactly where to look for items.
"I don't shop. The toy aisle
was like a foreign land to me," Shriner said.
Parker's personal escort,
Annapolis Police Officer Eric Davis, said it was his fifth year participating
in the program. He said he always enjoys the conversation he has with the
children about what their favorite colors and subjects are.
But he said it was a particular
thrill to be teamed up with a child who someday dreams of having the same job
he has.
"I told her we'll reserve a
spot for her."
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